Arouca vs Benfica – Betting Preview
Last Tuesday, four-time champion Sporting Lisbon defeated Arouca 2-1 to put an end to their fairytale run in the Taca da Liga.
Armando Evangelista’s team overcame a deficit to defeat Moreirense 2-1 away on December 22 after collecting eight points out of a possible 12 to finish first in Group G!
Arouca Preview
They put on a brave performance against Sporting last week, but they were defeated by veteran forward Paulinho, who scored on either side of Oday Dabbagh’s 58th-minute penalty to advance the Leoes to the Cup final.
Arouca have now gone undefeated in the Primeira Liga, picking up one draw and two victories, the most recent of which was a 4-0 hammering of Portimonense on January 20.
The Arouquenses are now sixth in the Primeira Liga standings with 26 points from 17 games, but with all three points on Tuesday, they might pass Casa Pia and advance to the Europa Conference League qualification spots.
Arouca will face a ruthless Benfica club next, which has won each of the past seven meetings between the two and is unbeaten in 13 of its past 14 games since October 2010.
Benfica Preview
Roger Schmidt’s men continued their charge for a first league title since the 2018-2019 campaign as they edged out rock-bottom Pacos de Ferreira 2-0 when the sides squared off last Thursday.
Alejandro Grimaldo and Joao Mario’s goals for Benfica gave them a two-goal advantage after just 30 minutes of play, and they held on to win at Estadio Capital do Movel.
As Aguias have won five straight games in a row across all competitions, drawing one, and defeating opponents by a score of 2-0, including Varzim of the Segunda Liga on January 10 in the round of 16 of the Taca de Portugal.
In their 18 games thus far this season, Benfica has won 15, tied twice, and lost once, earning them 47 points and the top spot in the Primeira Liga with a seven-point lead over Braga.
They travel to the Estadio Municipal de Arouca for the encounter on Sunday, though, where Arouca has won four of their past five league games while scoring 11 goals and allowing just two since the beginning of October!
1×2 Betting Odds
Benfica is now on fire and has established themselves as strong title contenders. They will aim to continue their impressive run of play. Based on previous outcomes in this match, we are betting on As Aguias to win once more and snap Arouca’s league winning streak!
Benfica has not lost in their last 5 matches, and despite being the away side here, they are the favourites to win @ 1.35.
Arouca has lost all of their previous 7 matches against Benfica, and the market deems that will be the case again for the home side! They are the underdogs in this @ 9.60.
The possibility of a stalemate and points shared between the two, stands @ 5.52.
Total goals over/under
The odds that the total number of goals scored will be over 2.5, stands @ 1.67.
While the odds that the total number of goals will be under 2.5, stands @ 2.32.
The market believes this is a one sided contest favouring Benfica, and market also expects a few goals to be scored in this match!
Benfica to win, and to win comfortably!
